Multi-contact electric switch controller



Aug. 4, 1964 M. RORKE 3,143,607

MULTI-CONTACT ELECTRIC swncn CONTROUER Filed Nov. 28, 1960 Rlll INVENTOR United States Patent 3,143,607 MULTI-CONTACT ELECTRIC SWITCH CONTROLLER Michael Rorke, 1 Briarhank Road, Ealing, London W-13, England Filed Nov. 28, 1260, Ser. No. 72,1d8 7 Claims. (Cl. 20043) This invention relates to an improved multi-contact electric switch controller for electric circuits and has particular although not exclusive reference to a switch for controlling the ignition system of an internal combustion engine. The engine may be mounted in a vehicle, for example, or it may be a stationary unit.

It is normal to include in ignition systems a switch by means of which the system may be rendered operative or inoperative as desired. By arranging that the switch has to be operated in a particular way, the engine may be safe-guarded against use by unauthorised persons.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a control switch which is of simple construction and reliable operation.

According to the present invention a control switch for an electric circuit comprises a rotatable and axially movable selecting and operating rod, a plurality of switchmembers operable by the selecting and operating rod, a tubular sleeve encircling the rod over part of its length, the sleeve being rotatable with the rod but movable axially relative thereto, a tubular guide for the sleeve, a bearing collar within the guide supporting the sleeve in the guide and means on the sleeve for resetting the switching members after operation thereof by the selecting and operating rod.

The sleeve may be flanged at one end the flange operatively connected to a dial. The dial may be visible through the window of a dial cover which is supported by the guide.

In one embodiment of the invention each switching member comprises a shaft carrying a contact bridging piece and a stub connected to the shaft at right angles to the axis thereof. The switch may have a cylindrical housing having slots in its walls in which the switching members are axially movable. The housing may also have a central bore in which is located a switching member operating arm secured to the selecting and operating rod.

By way of example only, a multi-contact switch controller for the ignition system of an internal combustion engine will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

. FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the switch with its outer casing removed,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation partly in section, and,

FIGS. 3, 4 and are sections respectively on the lines III-III, IV-IV and V-V of FIG. 2.

The switch controller is in two main parts of which the first, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, comprises the operating mechanism while the second part includes a plate 2 of insulating material carrying a number of spring contacts.

The mechanism comprising the part 1 is mounted upon a housing 3 having a central bore 4 the wall of which is stepped internally at 5 and 6 and is formed with a number of radially disposed slots 7 whose inner surfaces are rounded as indicated at 8 in FIG. 3.

Located in the slots 7 are switching member 9 each consisting of a shaft 10, a stub 11 secured at right angles to the shaft and a nose portion 12 of insulating material on which is mounted a collar 13 of an electrically conductive material for example brass. A can be seen from FIG. 3, the shafts are disposed at the inner ends of the slots 7 whilst the stubs 11 extend into the latter.

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The upper end (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the housing 3 is closed by a metal disc 14 having a central boss 15 which accommodates a flanged sleeve 16 encircling the lower threaded part of a tube 17 which extends upwardly from the housing 3. The disc 14 has a number of holes 18 around its edge to permit the passage of the shafts Ill. Seated upon the outer end of the boss 15 is a collar 19 held fast with the sleeve 16 by means of a grub screw 29 whose inner end projects into the thread on the tube 17.

Secured to the tube 17 is a disc 21 spaced from a second, larger disc 22 by ball bearings 23 in a support 2351. The disc 22 is seated upon the step 6 formed in the wall of the housing 3 and has a hollow boss 24 which accommodates a spring (not shown) held in a compressed condition by a small plate which closes the lower, open end of the boss 24 and is held in position by a split spring ring known as a circlip 25 located in a peripheral groove adjacent the lower end of a tube 17. The spring holds the disc 22 which is loosely mounted upon the tube 17 in contact with the bearings 23.

The tube 17 extends through a guide 26 supported upon arms 27 and has two diametrically opposite slots 28 formed in its walls adjacent its upper end. Located in those slots are tongues 29 extending from a tubular driving member 30 flanged at 31. The driving member 31 is located in a guide 32 by means of a bearing ring 33 which seats on an internal shoulder 34 in the bore 35 of the guide 32 and supports member 3!? through the medium of a shoulder 36 formed in the latter. As can be seen from FIG. 2, there is substantial clearance between the lower end of the member 39 and the bore 35 thereby providing a margin to accommodate any misalignment of the parts.

The guide 32 is secured to extensions of the arms 27 and is externally threaded to receive a collar 37 between which and a second collar 38 screwed over guide 32 is a mounting disc 39 over which is placed a dial cover 4%. Beneath the dial cover 49 is a dial 42 held tightly against the undersurface of the cover 49 by spring 43 of conical form when unstressed and located in the clearance between the guide 32 and the member 39. The flange 31 of the member 30 has a small stud 44 which fits into one of a number of small apertures in the dial thereby locating the latter in one of a number of alternative positions. The dial cover has a window 45 (PEG. 1) through which a part of the dial 42 is visible and the cover also has a pointer 46 to facilitate accurate location of the dial.

Extending through the driving member 30 and the tube 17 is an operating shaft 47 carrying a control knob 43 at one end and a switch operating arm 49 at the other. The control knob has secured to it a short tube 50 which seals the upper end of the shaft 47 and projects into the bore of the driving member 3% which is enlarged to accommodate a helical spring 51 which biasses the shaft 47 into the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cross section of the shaft 47 is shown in FIG. 5 from which it can be seen that the shaft fits closely the lower part of the bore in the member 36. The bore of the tube 17 is ircular in cross section.

The switch operating arm 49 is of cranked form having a projection 52 which is located in the annular gap between the internal stepped shoulder 5 and the disc 22.

The extreme lower tip of the shaft 47 carries a nose 53 of insulating material having a collar 54 of electrically conductive material.

The guide 26 has a portion 55 on which are mounted two downwardly projecting spaced strips 56, 57 the former being longer than the latter. The strip 56 extends to the collar 19 and co-operates in a manner described later with the screw 20 projecting from the collar.

The plate 2 has a central aperture 58 with two spring contacts and also carries a series of pairs of spring contacts 60 disposed around the aperture 58 adjacent the circumference of the plate. The spring contacts are located in shallow grooves in the surface of the plate and each is secured thereto by a small stud 61 which carries on the lower surface of the plate 2 a connector 62.

The plate 2 is secured to the housing 3 by means of spacers 63 screwed to both parts.

The dial 42 bears letters or numbers in positions corre sponding with the positions of the switch members 9.

When the switch is used to render inoperative the ignition circuit of a car or other electrical circuit, certain of the spring contacts 62 are series connected in that circuit and must be bridged before the circuit becomes operative. The actual number of contacts so connected will vary and can be changed by a user. Connections to the contacts are made via the connectors 62.

Once the switch has been wired up, bridging of the spring contacts connected in the circuit is done by rotating the control knob anti-clockwise until the number or letter on the dial 4-2 identifying the position of the first of the spring contacts appears in the window 45 aligned with the pointer 46. Rotation of the knob 48 is transferred through the shaft 47 to the driving member 39 since relative rotation of these components is prevented by the flats s4 (FIG. 5) on the shaft 47 which engage co-acting surfaces in the bore of the member 30. Member 30 is secured for rotation with the dial 42 by the stud 44. The tube 17 also rotates with the driving member 34 because of the connection between those components via the tongues 29 and the slots 28. In turn, the tube 17 turns collar 16 and the disc 21 but disc 22 does not rotate and friction between the latter and the disc 21 is reduced by the bearings 23. The screw 2% may come into contact with the lower end of strip 56 but as the surface of the latter is tangential, the screw can pass beneath the strip when moving in the anti-clockwise direc tion and may lift the strip slightly in so doing.

Rotation of the control knob swings the operating arm 49 round until it is positioned with the projection 52 above the stub 11 of the switch member 9 which is to be operated. If now the control knob is depressed the shaft 47 moves longitudinally against spring 51 and relatively to the driving member 30 and the tube 17. The projection 52 moves into contact with stub 11 and the switching member is moved downwardly to a position in which the brass collar 13 bridges the spring contacts 60 beneath the switching member.

That procedure is repeated for each other switching member to be operated.

To render the circuit inoperative, it is necessary to reset the switch and this is done by rotating the control knob in a clockwise direction to bring the screw 20 into contact with the other edge of strip 56 which in this direction of rotation cannot be deflected so that further rotation of the collar is prevented. Continued rotation of the knob causes the collar 19 and sleeve 16 to travel upwardly along the threaded tube 17 against spring 65. That upward movement lifts plate 14 via the flange on the sleeve 16 until the plate comes into contact with nuts 66 screwed on the ends of the shafts 10. The shafts move upwardly with the plate 14 and the switching members are thus returned to the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Anti-clockwise rotation of knob 48 now returns the plate 14 and its associated components to the positions shown in the drawing and the switch is reset. The anticlockwise rotation brings screw 20 into contact with the edge of strip 56 thereby ensuring axial movement of the plate 14 together with sleeve 16 and collar 19.

The spring contacts 59 might, for example, be connected in parallel with the vehicle horn button so that depression of the knob 48 by an unauthorised person energises the vehicle horn. To prevent such energisation occurring each time the knob 48 is depressed during normal working of the switch, one of the switching members 1% has the position of its brass collar changed so that the spring contacts associated with the member are bridged when the latter is in the position shown in the drawings. Those particular spring contacts are then series connected with the contacts 59. It will be appreciated that the particular switching member must be operated first in subsequent use of the switch in order to render contacts 5h inoperative.

The number of switching members actually employed can be varied as can their positions. In addition, a user can alter the setting of the dial relative to the position of the switching members thereby altering the code representing those members.

The shape of the collar 13 and the nose portion 12 of the switching members can be made such that a scraping action is exerted on the spring contacts during movement of the switching member thereby ensuring that the spring contacts are kept clean.

Further, the letters or numerals carried by the dial may be removable enabling further changes to be made to the code representing the switching members. i

In an alternative form of the invention, the guide 26 supports the member 32 directly and is itself supported by a hemi-spherical cover plate secured to the housing 3. The plate 2 is mounted within a second cover plate which when secured to the first ensures that the switch is com pletely enclosed.

I claim:

1. A multi-contact switch controller for an electric circuit comprising in combination a housing, a tubular guide forming part of said housing, a bearing collar located within the guide, a sleeve mounted in the collar for rotary movement relatively thereto, an operating rod freely passing centrally through the sleeve, a bearing in said housing supporting said sleeve for rotary movement, a driving connection between said operating rod and said sleeve for transmitting rotary movement of said rod to said sleeve and permitting axial movement of said rod relatively to said sleeve, a plurality of electric switches disposed concentrically around said rod, each switch having an operate and a reset position, a switch operate attachment secured to said rod, and a switch reset mechanism operable by rotation of said sleeve for moving simultaneously all said switches to said reset positions.

2. A multi-contact switch controller for an electric circuit comprising in combination a housing, a tubular guide forming part of said housing, a bearing collar located within said tubular guide, a sleeve mounted in the collar for rotary movement, an operating rod freely disposed centrally within the sleeve, a bearing in said housing supporting said sleeve for rotary movement, a driving connection between said rod and said sleeve for transmitting rotation of said rod to said sleeve but not axial movement of said rod, a plurality of switches disposed on said housing concentrically with respect to said rod, each switch having an operate and a reset position, a switch operate attachment secured to said rod, a flange on said sleeve, a dial mounted upon said housing, a driving connection between said flange and said dial, and a switch resetting mechanism responsive to rotation of said sleeve in a particular direction for moving simultaneously all said switches to said reset positions.

3. A multi-contact switch controller as claimed in claim 2 and further comprising, for each switch, a switch shaft, a contact bridging piece on said shaft, a stub axle joined to said shaft adjacent said bridging piece, and flexible contact members.

4. A multi-contact switch controller for an electric circuit comprising in combination a housing, a tubular guide forming part of said housing, a bearing collar located in said guide, a sleeve mounted for rotation in said collar, an operating rod freely disposed centrally within said sleeve, a bearing in said housing supporting said sleeve for rotary movement, a driving connection betWeen said rod and said sleeve for transmitting rotation of said rod to said sleeve but not axial movement of said rod, a cylindrical walled enclosure round one end of said rod, a series of radial slots in the wall of said enclosure, a plurality of switches, each switch being located in a different one of said slots and having an operate and a reset position, a switch operate attachment secured to said rod adjacent said one end thereof, and a switch reset mechanism responsive to rotation of said sleeve in a particular direction for moving simultaneously all said switches to said reset positions.

5. A multicontact switch controller as claimed in claim 4 and in which said switch reset mechanism comprises a disc forming part of the wall of said Walled enclosure.

6. A multi-contact switch controller for an electric circuit comprising in combination a housing, a tubular guide forming part of said housing, a bearing collar located in said tubular guide, a first sleeve passed through said bearing collar, an operating rod freely disposed coaxially within said first sleeve, a driving connection between said rod and said first sleeve for transmitting rotary but not axial movement of said rod to said first sleeve, a plurality of switches mounted on said housing concentrically with respect to said rod, each switch having an operate and a reset position, a switch operate attachment secured to said rod, a further sleeve mounted on said rod, a rotation transferring drive connection between said first and said further sleeves, a bearing in said housing supporting said further sleeve for rotary movement, a switch reset device freely mounted externally on said further sleeve, and a driving connection between said reset device and said further sleeve for translating rotation of said further sleeve in a particular direction into axial movement of said reset device to move all said switches simultaneously to said reset positions.

7. A multi-contact switch controller as claimed in claim 6 and further comprising an external screw thread on said further sleeve, and, in said reset device, a flanged sleeve rotatably mounted on said further sleeve, 2. switch reset plate mounted on said flanged sleeve, a pin passing through said flanged sleeve and into said external thread, and, on said housing, a pin rotation-arresting device for holding said pin against rotation when said rod is rotated in said particular direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,552,136 Galdi Sept. 1, 1925 2,149,226 Merkel Feb. 28, 1939 2,517,506 Riggs Aug. 1, 1950 2,781,424 Woolf Feb. 12, 1957 2,781,425 Glowzinski et al. Feb. 12, 1957 2,927,168 Brown Mar. 1, 1960 

1. A MULTI-CONTACT SWITCH CONTROLLER FOR AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A HOUSING, A TUBULAR GUIDE FORMING PART OF SAID HOUSING, A BEARING COLLAR LOCATED WITHIN THE GUIDE, A SLEEVE MOUNTED IN THE COLLAR FOR ROTARY MOVEMENT RELATIVELY THERETO, AN OPERATING ROD FREELY PASSING CENTRALLY THROUGH THE SLEEVE, A BEARING IN SAID HOUSING SUPPORTING SAID SLEEVE FOR ROTARY MOVEMENT, A DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID OPERATING ROD AND SAID SLEEVE FOR TRANSMITTING ROTARY MOVEMENT OF SAID ROD TO SAID SLEEVE AND PERMITTING AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ROD RELATIVELY TO SAID SLEEVE, A PLURALITY OF ELECTRIC SWITCHES DISPOSED CONCENTRICALLY AROUND SAID ROD, EACH SWITCH HAVING AN OPERATE AND A RESET POSITION, A SWITCH OPERATE ATTACHMENT SECURED TO SAID ROD, AND A SWITCH RESET MECHANISM OPERABLE BY ROTATION OF SAID SLEEVE FOR MOVING SIMULTANEOUSLY ALL SAID SWITCHES TO SAID RESET POSITIONS. 